Neurosis Vocalist Scott Kelly Admits to Familial Abuse, Announces Retirement

WARNING: The following news story contains language related to domestic violence that may be triggering for some readers. If you or someone you know is facing abuse, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline website. A disclaimer on the website notes that if you are concerned your Internet usage is being monitored, an alternative option is to call 800-799-SAFE (800-799-7233).

Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly – who co-founded the post-metal band in 1985 – has admitted to enacting “emotional, financial, verbal and physical abuse” of his children and wife. Consequently, he also stated, he will be “100 percent permanently retired from being a professional musician.”

Yesterday afternoon (Aug. 27), Kelly posted a detailed explanation to Facebook, starting with the impetus for the confession: “Due to recent events, I feel that I clearly need to address some rumors and set the record straight.”

He goes on to say that he “became obsessed with control and used threats, manipulation, threats of self-harm and suicide” – among other things – to keep people from “find[ing] out.” Although he eventually reached out to psychiatrists (with the support of his wife), he added, his “lies and deceptions fell apart in front of [them].”

“I don’t want to lie about any of this anymore. I love my wife to no end. She is the best person that I know. She is intensely honest, loving and good to her core,” he professed. “This letter is massive simplification of the irreparable damage I have caused and the unforgivable things that I’ve done to her and our kids.”

Kelly also acknowledged that certain people have tried to blame his wife “to give [him] an out,” and that she has “faced crazy accusations” whenever she’s “been kind enough to answer questions” about Kelly’s “absence.”

He went on to add, “My wife absolutely speaks for me in my absence and I have already said she is intensely honest. If you don’t want the truth definitely don’t ask her questions. Additionally it is never appropriate to approach or question our children.”

Regarding how his personal life has affected his public one, he concluded:

I have hidden behind the attention and unfounded respect and adulation. I used my social position to directly and indirectly manipulate all of you and to hide the abuse of my family. . . . Some people can be in a scene like this where there is no accountability and maintain their integrity. I cannot. My sole focus for the rest of my life is on taking care of my family, allowing them safe space to heal and rebuilding their trust.

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As stated, Kelly was a founding member of Neurosis in 1985. Over the course of his career, he recorded 12 studio albums with the band, starting with 1987’s Pain of Mind and most recently appearing on 2016 Fires Within Fires. In 2017, after the deaths of Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, Kelly openly spoked about his own struggles with mental illness and the impact that it had on his family.

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